Emerging Markets

Digital Identity

The backbone of Digital Identity is the ability to employ a single, private, secure identity system as the key to enter any number of applications and environments you might have access to.  In broader strokes however, especially in education, it can encompasses the ownership (by the learner) of the learning experience and the authority to broker the data, transcripts, credentials, etc, arising from that experience.

Opportunity Statement

As every individual’s learning experience is increasingly digital, bridging across formal and informal activities hosted by multiple institutions and organizations, Digital Identity venture opportunities arise for products and services which support the individual’s objectives as well as help them to seamlessly negotiate those objectives with external organizations and stakeholders.

Prediction Source(s)

NMC – 2012 K-12 Horizon Report

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Emerging Markets

Early Childhood Learning

Young minds crave more stimulation & response than most parents, caregivers, siblings & peers can ever offer.   Parents everywhere are already entertaining even very young children with smartphone & tablet apps, and it is obvious how engaged the kids are.    How young is too young?   How much is too much?  Do we even know sufficiently about how learning happens in early childhood to author software to support it?

Opportunity Statement

Companies  marketing progressive learning into early childhood using tablets, etc, already exist, but we’re close to a tipping point of size, cost, safety, performance, interface, etc, that will transform the current focus on distraction into one of accountable development and accelerated learning.  Preschool is about to get some rocket fuel, and this will likely change the trajectory of the entire home-school market.

Prediction Source(s)

Xtreme Labs – Three Technology Trends

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Emerging Markets

Badges

An approach to alternative credentials, badges, are digital tokens that appear as icons or logos on a web page or other online venue. Awarded by institutions, organizations, groups, or individuals, badges signify accomplishments such as completion of a project, mastery of a skill, or marks of experience. Learners fulfill the issuer-specific criteria to earn the badge by attending classes, passing an exam or review, or completing other activities, and a grantor verifies that the specifications have been met and awards the badge. Numerous groups, organizations, community projects, and web entities currently issue badges, and they are gaining currency in higher education as well.

Opportunity Statement

Although many details remain for badges to be broadly accepted, they represent a different approach to credentials, one that places the focus on individual students and their learning accomplishments.

Prediction Source(s)

Educause – 7 Things

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Pitch Pool

Knowillage

“Here, at Knowillage, we developed artificial intelligence e-learning technology
which greatly accelerates students learning and helps them maximize their academic performance.”

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